(Aranyaka Parva)

Om! Having bowed down to Narayana, and Nara the foremost of male beings,
and the goddess Saraswati also, must the word _Jaya_ be uttered.

Janamejaya said, "O thou foremost of regenerate ones, deceitfully
defeated at dice by the sons of Dhritarashtra and their counsellors,
incensed by those wicked ones that thus brought about a fierce
animosity, and addressed in language that was so cruel, what did the
Kuru princes, my ancestors--the sons of Pritha--(then) do? How also did
the sons of Pritha, equal unto Sakra in prowess, deprived of affluence
and suddenly overwhelmed with misery, pass their days in the forest? Who
followed the steps of those princes plunged in excess of affliction? And
how did those high souled ones bear themselves and derive their
sustenance, and where did they put up? And, O illustrious ascetic and
foremost of Brahmanas, how did those twelve years (of exile) of those
warriors who were slayers of foes, pass away in the forest? And
undeserving of pain, how did that princess, the best of her sex, devoted
to her husbands, eminently virtuous, and always speaking the truth,
endure that painful exile in the forest? O thou of ascetic wealth tell
me all this in detail, for, O Brahmana, I desire to hear thee narrate
the history of those heroes possessed of abundant prowess and lustre.
Truly my curiosity is great."

Vaisampayana said, "Thus defeated at dice and incensed by the wicked
sons of Dhritarashtra and their counsellors, the sons of Pritha set out
from Hastinapura. And issuing through _Vardhamana_ gate of the city, the
Pandavas bearing their weapons and accompanied by Draupadi set out in a
northerly direction. Indrasena and others, with servants numbering